New perspective about police officers

December 03, 2003

To the editor:

Last Friday, Black Friday, I would have probably rather scrubbed toilets at Grand Central Station than go to a store and fight the crowds.

Because money was tight, my husband unemployed, and in an attempt to save some of that money for Christmas, I decided to drive to Somerset to pick up my son's Christmas present. Friday was the only day it was on sale. The ad said that the store opened at 10, so I decided I would drop my son off at my Dad's around 9:15 and head straight over to Somerset, get his present, and head straight home. No fighting any crowds, just in, buy his present, and get out. It didn't exactly work that way.

I've traveled the Garrett Shortcut every weekday, twice a day, back and forth to work for the past 22 years. I could probably do it in my sleep. I've experienced freezing rain, a flat tire, deep snow, driving rain, overheated thermostats, whiteouts, and inconsiderate deer. That morning, though, the Shortcut became a toll road for me. There is a long straight stretch just near the State Prison that is zoned down to 35 miles per hour. Because I had one goal in mind that morning, I neglected to pay attention to this fact, and as a result of my tunnel vision, I paid for it.

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When I got to the end of the Shortcut, at the stop sign, I looked in my rear view mirror and saw a state police cruiser. I figured I better watch my P's and Q's, but little did I know that it was already too late. When I pulled out onto Route 219, he put his flashers on and signaled me over to the side of the road.

At first, I didn't know why I was being pulled over. Trooper Myers of the state police advised me that he had clocked me at 57 miles per hour in a 35 mile per hour zone. I don't know where he was sitting, and I didn't see him pull out after me. Apparently my focus was on the Christmas present and not my speed.

Was I driving more than 35 miles per hour? I'm sure I was. I've tried to drive 35 in that area and it feels like a crawl. Quite frankly, I don't know anyone who drives 35 through there. I usually slow down to about 45 miles per hour and I've been passed and flipped off for doing it. The stupid thing is that I usually do watch my speed through there, and I even comment on it to my husband and others who might not know about it because they don't drive that road every day like I do. Was I doing 57 miles per hour? I don't know, only Trooper Myers knows that for sure. I wasn't paying attention.

Anyway, when Trooper Myers approached my vehicle, he did so from the back at a decidedly awkward angle for me, the driver. I'm sure it was completely textbook. He looked a little apprehensive about approaching me, and I found this a little funny, actually, because I hardly consider myself, a middle aged, overweight female, menacing. I wasn't wearing any makeup, though, so then again, I might have looked a little scary.

It was while Trooper Myers was writing me up that I had to actually consider what he and other officers like him go through, day in and day out. I could have been anyone behind that wheel and his life could have been ended in a heartbeat when he approached my vehicle. It's happened. I can't imagine the courage that must take to do his job every day.

We take police officers for granted. They are the good guys in white hats that ride to our rescue when we need help, and they become the bad guys in black hats when they write us up for exceeding speed limits; in both cases, enforcing the law to ensure public safety.

Trooper Myers was the epitome of politeness, explaining everything as he went and thanking me for wearing my seat belt. He even wished me a nice day as he left. Needless to say, the $158 fine pretty much put a damper on my day (and the weekend for that matter), but it will certainly slow me down, at least for a while, and it gave me a new perspective of what he and other officers like him do for a living.

Was I mad at Trooper Myers for writing me up? I was upset, but I don't know if it was because I was mad at him or mad at myself for not paying closer attention to the speed. Could he have given me a warning? I don't know what the guidelines are for that, but then again, according to him, I was 22 miles per hour over the speed limit. If there is one thing that I've tried to instill in my son's character is that we all have to be responsible for our own actions. The fact of the matter is, I was speeding, and I should face up to the consequences for doing so.

I guess the thing that scares me the most is, because I travel that road every day, I may become careless again and get another ticket and another fine. The only other speeding ticket I had was about 25 years ago and, at that time, I had a legitimate reason for exceeding the speed limit; that's another story. This time, I didn't.

Christmas will still be Merry this year, although, the charge card will have $150 more on it than I had intended and take a little longer to pay off. There will be more paper bag lunches and a few less impulse items purchased until I can get the fine paid, but still I want to say Thank You to Trooper Myers, and all his fellow officers, for risking their lives for me and my family every day.